"The total number of foreign tourist arrivals in the first semester of 2024 is the highest since 2020," said Amalia A. Widyasanti, the agency's acting head, in Jakarta on Thursday.
In June, the number of international tourist arrivals via the country's main entry gates stood at 997,258, while foreign tourist arrivals via the border gates reached 171,737.
The number of arrivals in that month totaled 1,168,988, up 2.05 percent month-on-month and 9.99 percent year-on-year.
"The number of foreign tourist arrivals continues to increase from time to time and is getting closer to pre-pandemic level in 2019," she noted.
Based on the nationality of tourists, the highest number of tourists came from Malaysia, accounting for 16.1 percent of the total tourist arrivals, followed by Singapore (13.4 percent) and Australia (12.3 percent).
The number of Malaysian tourist arrivals, however, showed a decline of 5.86 percent month-on-month, but an increase of 11.60 percent year-on-year.
Furthermore, the number of trips abroad by domestic tourists in the first half reached 4,469,267, an increase of 25.62 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The figure was still lower compared to the same period before the pandemic.
The destinations most visited by domestic tourists were Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. Trips to Saudi Arabia were mainly pushed by Hajj pilgrimage.
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Translator: Maria Cicilia, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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